Cloud usage shows no sign of stopping and as we herald in a new year, it’s vital to have all the tools at hand to ensure your business does not lag behind. More sensitive data is being placed in the cloud every day so whether you are in government or the private sector, the push to a cloud-based approach is not going to slow down. Here are the thoughts of some of the key hosting companies in the iomart Group for 2016.

Backup Technology

Almost three quarters of enterprise data is being created in different mobile settings, including laptops and smartphones. The priority in 2016 is for companies to establish solid mobile device management policies that ensure security without compromising the flexibility of the workforce. Cloud solutions can enable mobile users to work through a centralised system to access files and share remotely instantly. Storage – whether it be Direct Attached (DAS) or Network Attached NAS) – should be combined with a robust cloud backup solution.

The market for Disaster Recovery as Service is estimated to grow nearly sevenfold over the next five years. For enterprises nervous of moving to the cloud, DRaaS is a first step, allowing them to test the waters without giving up control over their production applications. Anything can disrupt your working environment – flood, fire, human error – so it’s vital you can recover quickly. We have seen this already in 2016 with flooding throughout the UK and Backup Technology helping some customers survive the onslaught of Storm Frank.

Choosing the right cloud backup solution will become even more important as cyber threats continue to increase. It is vital therefore that in 2016 organisations choose a vendor who provides end-to-end encryption of their data to ensure full protection rather than opting for something that’s all smoke and mirrors.

SystemsUp

The public sector in particular will continue to focus on the issues of having to balance the management of legacy infrastructure with the need to run more applications in the cloud. The ability to work through the issues first and create a firm strategy with realistic and achievable ROIs is going to become more important than ever. More departments will look to expert consultants to help them plan and implement these moves.

RapidSwitch

If the rapidly expanding gaming industry is a fan of dedicated servers it is a message that is not lost on the wider market. For businesses that rely on delivering great experiences for multiple users at the same time – live streaming as well as gaming for instance – the power, speed and virtualisation needed can be delivered efficiently via bare metal. Already configured and ready to go, dedicated servers are still a mainstay and with more people understanding the benefits off containerisation there will be no let-up in their use.

Melbourne

2015 was the year of the rise of the Northern Powerhouse. As well as becoming a political and economic force, Manchester and the North West of England is now acknowledged as a breeding ground for innovative technology start-ups, digital agencies and e-commerce specialists, many of whom are our customers.

This plays into what Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google parent company Alphabet, has said. He believes the UK is the world leader in e-commerce, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “lean distribution models are replacing big marketing and advertising budgets.” The cloud will have a big part to play as this trend continues in 2016.

ServerSpace

The cloud hosting trends for this year will include the continued migration of workloads to the cloud which will in turn help to drive innovation in products, services and solutions. In-house servers will become rarer and while private cloud growth  slowed in 2015 it will still lead the way for a wide range of organisations and applications in 2016 because enterprises find it easier to adopt.

iomart

While there is still a place for colocation and managed hosting delivered by data centre technical teams, the ability to bring together expertise that covers AWS, Azure, Google and private and hybrid  cloud as well as the whole range of storage, backup, DR, network services, connectivity and security means hosting providers are continually evolving.

Understanding the drivers for a business to move to the cloud and provide it with the helping hand and resources to achieve it is vital as we continue to move to a data-loaded existence. In 2015 cloud became the platform of choice for enterprise applications but it wasn’t really cost that was the motivation – it was the ability to be more flexible and scale as needed, something that’s important for every organisation.

Cyber security is going to be at the top of most large organisation’s agendas. The recent BBC hack shows no-one is immune so DDoS protection will be a growing area.

When it comes down to the nitty gritty of a new year, what every good hosting company wants to do is deliver great solutions with great service to enable its customers to carry out their online business in the best way possible. And that’s at the heart of what all of us at iomart want to achieve.

So here’s to working with you in 2016!